On Monday Ryann Honea will look to win her second consecutive Western Athletic Championship title as the Wildcats travel to Litchfield Park, Arizona, to play at Wigwam Golf Club; a course Honea already captured a co-win at this season.
The Wildcats will enter the championship hot off an impressive third-place finish at the “Mo” Morial Invitational, hosted by Texas A&M University on April 7 and 8. The third-place finish was the fourth time this season the team finished in the top three, including the team’s win in the inaugural home tournament, the West Texas Classic.
“Having a win and three other top-three finishes gives our team some great experience going into postseason play,” Head Coach Rob Bennett said. “We know what it feels like to be in the mix and to win. That should serve us well over the next few weeks.”
Honea, junior from San Angelo, finished fourth in the “Mo” after scoring an impressive six-over-par despite not having a birdie in the final round of play. The top-five finish from Honea was her fifth this season.
“I putted really well,” Honea said. “I think I was probably 98% inside seven feet which was huge because I missed a lot of greens so chipping it to that distance required me to make them.”
Honea also said she hit her driver well, which set up her short game and allowed her to be successful in “a battle of the short game.”
The team’s third-place finish was due in part to Honea’s individual fourth-place finish but was also a product of a 21-over final round, which landed the Wildcats at 59-over for the week.
Julia Vollmer, freshman from San Antonio, ended the tournament in a tie for 23rd at 18-over-par.
“I think that I hit more greens this week than I have recently,” Vollmer said. “I put myself in a good position when I hit the green which is really big for me. I didn’t play like I should have but I am seeing glimpses of promise.”
In preparation for the WAC Championship, Bennett thinks the team’s wins over power four conference teams, including No. 32 ranked Baylor University last week, will be key to winning late in the season.
Additionally, Bennett believes that putting will be a key piece to success at the WAC Championship.
“We have some very specific things we will focus on going into the WAC Championship,” Bennett said. “Namely putting. The course we will be playing in Phoenix will provide a lot of birdie opportunities and the team that putts the best will be the team that wins the championship.”
Ultimately for Bennett and the Wildcats, their goals reach further than winning the WAC. After Honea won the WAC individually last season and qualified for nationals, the ball is teed up for more as the team looks to qualify this year.
“Our goal is to win the WAC and I believe we could also have the individual champion come from our team as well,” Bennett said.
The WAC Championship will begin Monday, April 14 with the following rounds being played on Tuesday and Wednesday. If the Wildcats qualify, as a team or individually, the NCAA regional tournament will begin May 5.
